Tire-tightener.



Patehted Sept. 26, I899. H. MEYER TIRE TIGHTENER.

(Application filed Dec. 16, 1898.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE@ HENRY MEYER, OF EXIRA, IOYVA.

TIRE-TIGHTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 633,602, datedSeptember 26, 1899.

Application filed December 16, 1898. Serial No. 699,517. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that LIIENRY MEYER, a citizen of the United States, residingat Exira, in the county of Audubon and State of Iowa, have invented anew and useful Tire-Tightener, of which the following is aspecification.

The object of this invention is to provide improved means for tighteningtires upon wheel-rims by expanding the wheel-rims within the tires.

This invention consists in the construction, arrangement, andcombination of elements herein afterset forth,pointedoutin my claims,and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is anelevation of a portion of a wheel-rim and tire thereon, showing mydevice mounted in position for practical use and broken away on one sideto illustrate the interior construction thereof. Fig. 2 is across-section on theindicated line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sideelevation, and Fig. 4. isa plan, of detail elements entering into thestructure of my device.

In the construction and application of the device as shown the numeraldesignates an elongated open-ended tube or casing made of a single pieceof sheet metal approximately elliptical in cross-section and the outerapex of the ellipse flattened and broadened to provide a seat orengaging portion 11 for contact with the inner surface of a wheel-tire12. The edges of the section of sheet metal employed in constructing thecasing or tube 10 are overlapped at the remaining apex of the ellipsethereof. Ooinciding bolt-holes in the top and bottom of each end portionof the tube admit bolts, as required, to fasten the tube to the tire onthe wheel and to allow the adjustment of the rim within the tube. Thus atube is produced in such a manner as to be adapted in size and shape sothat it can be opened at its inner side to admit e'X- panding devicesand when closed as to receive the meeting end portions of fellies 13 letof a wheel-rim, and the fellies, casing or tube, and the wheel-tire areconnected by tire-bolts 15 16, seated in and transversely of aperturesin the tire and tube and in slots in the fellies and retained by meansof nuts 17 18, mounted on the inner ends of the tire-bolts and impingingthe lower or axial surface of the casing. The meeting ends of thefellies 13 14 enter the open ends of the casing 10, and wearing-blocks20 21 are mounted within the casing and in contact with the ends of saidfellies. The wearing-blocks 20 21 are provided with ribs, lugs, orprojections 22 23 on their faces engaging in and contacting rigidly withthe ends of the fellies, whereby the wearing-blocks are retained againsttorsional movement relative to the fellies. A screwthreaded stud 24 isformed on or fixed to the wearing-block 20 and projects toward thewearing-block 21. A polygonal nut 25 is screw-seated upon and arrangedfor travel relative to the screw-threaded stud 24, and one end of saidnut is rounded or convexed and seated in a concaved seat in the face ofthe wearing-block 21 opposite to the web, rib, projection, or stud 23.

In practical operation the wearing-blocks are mounted between themeeting ends of fellies and separated by the stud 2a and nut 25. The nut25 is then unscrewed relative to the stud 24 to such an extent as toexpand the wheel-rim by the separation of the fellies into close contactwith the inner face of the wheel-tire. The edges of the casing 10 arethen overlapped and the tire-bolts 15 16 positioned, as shown in Fig. 1of the drawings, traversing apertures in the overlapping edges of thecasing and retaining the same closed and practically impervious to mudand other substances, whereby the operation of the nut and itsusefulness might beimpaired. When the wheel-rim becomes loose within thetire, the tire-bolts 15 16 are removed, the casing opened by separationof the-overlapping edges thereof, and the nut 25 further unscrewed fromthe stud 24 to an extent sufficient to tighten the tire.

I claim as my invention- 1. A tubular casing made of a single piece ofsheet metal adapted to overlie the inner surface of a wheel-tire and itsinner edges overlapping and adapted to be separated to admit expandingdevices and its open ends adapted to admit the ends of fellies andprovided with coinciding bolt-holes in its end portions as and for thepurposes stated.

2. In a tire-tightener, an open-ended tube made of sheet metal havingseparable overlying parts along its length to engage the inner surfaceof a rim and coinciding boltholes in its end portions, metal blockspassed into the tube between the separable overlying edges of the tubeand a screw and nut placed between said block as shown and described tooperate in the manner set forth for the purposes stated.

3. A tire-tightener comprising an openended sheet-metal tube adapted toinolose the ends of a rim and to be opened at the inner face of the rimto admit expanding devices to 1 be placed between the ends of the rimand within the tube, coinciding bolt-holes in'the end portions of thetube, and bolts to extend through the wheel-tire, the ends of the rim 15and the tube, arranged and combined with a rim and a tire in the mannerset forth for the purposes stated.

HENRY MEYER.

Witnesses: Y

MosEs NEUMANN, v THOMAS G. ORWIG.

